2016 News Releases

AG Schmidt: California company fined for telemarketing violations

TOPEKA – (February 9, 2016) – A California company will pay $110,000 in penalties and fees for violating the No-Call Act and Kansas Consumer Protection Act, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced today.

Judson Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a K-Designers of Gold River, Calif., agreed to a consent judgment ordering the company to pay $110,000 in fees and civil penalties. The judgment was approved yesterday by Judge Larry D. Hendricks in Shawnee County District Court. In addition, K-Designers was enjoined from further violations of the Kansas No-Call Act and the Kansas Consumer Protection Act as well as required to adopt policies and train its employees to ensure compliance with Kansas law and make regular reports to the attorney general.

“We continue to vigorously pursue violations of the Kansas No-Call Act,” Schmidt said. “Kansans who have signed up for the Do-Not-Call list have an expectation that their privacy be respected. We will enforce the law against those telemarketers who violate it.”

The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division began investigating K-Designers in 2013 after receiving a complaint from a Manhattan consumer who was on the Do-Not-Call list. In total, four consumers filed complaints with the Attorney General’s Office against the company, while another 34 complaints were filed with the Federal Trade Commission. The complaints alleged that K-Designers telemarketers were calling Kansas consumers on the Do Not Call registry and failing to promptly discontinue the call when the consumer declined the company’s offer. The Attorney General also accused the company of violating the Kansas Consumer Protection Act by failing to deliver written prize notifications to Kansas consumers entered into the company’s “home improvement” sweepstakes and by making false and deceptive statements regarding the time-sensitive nature of company’s sales and discounts (i.e. discount prices being available only for a limited time, when in fact, the company was running sales continually).

Kansans who wish to register for the national Do-Not-Call list, or to report an alleged violation of the No-Call Act, should visit the Attorney General’s website at www.InYourCornerKansas.org .